ABOUT RICE:

Rice, plant that produces an edible grain; the name is also used for the grain itself. Rice is the primary food for half the people in the world. In many regions it is eaten with every meal and provides more calories than any other single food. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), rice supplies an average of 889 calories per day per person in China. In contrast, rice provides an average of only 82 calories per day per person in the United States. Rice is a nutritious food, providing about 90 percent of calories from carbohydrates and as much as 13 percent of calories from protein.

Of the known species of rice, only two are cultivated—the widely grown Asian rice and the hardier African rice. Asian rice, if managed with modern techniques such as fertilizers, irrigation, and chemical pesticides, produces significantly more grain per plant than African rice, and for this reason is the preferred type in the majority of rice-growing countries. African rice, however, is more productive than Asian rice in traditional farming systems where modern techniques are not used or poor growing conditions are present. About 50,000 varieties exist within these two species, only a few hundred of which are cultivated.